Saturday, January 5, 2013

Great art Thou, O Lord, and marvelous are Thy works, and speech
sufficeth not to sing the praises of Thy wonders. For Thou, by Thy will,
from nothingness hast brought all things into being; by Thy majesty
Thou dost uphold all creation, and by Thy providence Thou dost direct
the world. When Thou hadst framed the universe out of four elements,
Thou didst crown the circle of the year with four seasons. All the
reason-endowed powers tremble before Thee. The sun singeth Thy praises,
and the moon glorifieth Thee; the stars, also, stand before Thy
presence. The light obeyeth Thee. The deeps shudder with awe before
Thee; the water-springs do Thy bidding. Thou hast spread out the heavens
like a curtain. Thou hast established the earth upon the waters. With
sand hast Thou walled in the sea. Thou hast shed abroad the air for
breathing. The Angelic powers serve Thee. The Archangelic hosts adore
Thee. The many-eyed Cherubim and the six-winged Seraphim, as they stand
round about and do fly, veil their faces with awe before Thine
unapproachable glory. For Thou, the God which cannot be circumscribed,
who art from everlasting and ineffable, didst come down upon earth,
taking on the form of a servant and being made in the likeness of men.
For Thou couldst not endure, O Master, because of Thy tenderhearted
mercy, to behold the children of men tormented by the devil; but Thou
didst come, and didst save us. We confess Thy grace; we proclaim Thy
mercy; we conceal not Thy gracious deeds. Thou hast set at liberty the
generations of our race; by Thy birth Thou hast sanctified a Virgin's
womb. All creation singeth praises unto Thee, who didst reveal Thyself;
for Thou, our God, didst manifest Thyself upon earth, and didst dwell
among men. Thou didst hallow, also, the streams of Jordan, in that Thou
didst send down from heaven Thy Holy Spirit, and didst crush the heads
of the serpents which lurked there. Wherefore do Thou, O King who lovest
mankind, come down now also through the descent of Thy Holy Spirit, and
sanctify this water.

Wherefore do Thou, O King Who lovest mankind, come down now also through
the descent of Thy Holy Spirit, and sanctify this water. Thrice.

And impart unto it
the grace of redemption, the blessing of Jordan. Make it a fountain of
immortality, a gift of sanctification, the remission of sins, the healing of
infirmities, the destruction of the demons, unapproachable by hostile powers, filled
with angelic might. And may it be unto all those who shall draw it, and shall partake
of it unto the purification of their souls and bodies, unto the healing of their
passions, unto the sanctification of their homes, and unto every expedient
service. For Thou art our God, Who
through water and the Spirit hast renewed our nature which had fallen into
decay through sin. For Thou art our God,
Who with water didst drown sin in the days of Noah. For Thou art our God, Who by the sea, through
Moses, freed the Hebrew people from slavery to Pharaoh. For Thou art our God, Who smote the rock in
the wilderness, so that waters gushed forth, and torrents welled forth, and Who
satisfied Thy thirsty people. For Thou
art our God, Who by water and fire, through Elijah, didst set Israel free
from the errors of Baal.

Do Thou Thyself, O
Master, sanctify now also this water by Thy Holy Spirit. Thrice.

O Lord, save our
civil authorities; have mercy upon the Most Holy Synod, and keep them in peace
beneath Thy shelter. Subdue under them
from every enemy and adversary; grant all their petitions which are unto
salvation, and life eternal, that with the elements, and men, and Angels, and
with all things visible and invisible, they may magnify Thy most holy Name, together
with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of
ages.